Sand feed for core blowers



Oct. 3, 1950 J, s JUDELL 2,524,447

SAND FEED FR CORE BLOWERS Filed Sept. 25, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 I,IIHIHIU 1N V EN TOR.

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fa MQW 119434 @wm/M Afro/@VIPS Patented Oct. 3, 1950 SAND FEED FOR COREBLOWERS Julius S. Judell,

Shorewood, Wis.,

assignor to Western Hardware & Specialty Manufacturing' Company, ofWisconsin Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation Application September 23, 1948,Serial No. 50,753

10 Claims.

This invention relates generally to improvements in the manufacture offoundry cores, and relates more particularly toimprovements in theconstruction and operation of machines for blowing sand cores or thelike with the aid of air pressure.

The primary object of my present invention is to provide improvedmechanism for effectively transferring sand or other core producingmaterial from a source of supply to the blow hopper or cartridge fromwhich batches of the material are blown into the successive molds.

As shown and described in my Patent No. 2,468,672, granted April 2-6,1949, I have heretofore proposed to blow successive sand cores inrelatively rapid succession by causing one or more sand filledcartridges to communicate with successive molds, and with a source ofair under pressure past a compressed air delivery valve operable by acartridge sealing and mold clamping disc which is reciprocable by apiston actuated air conducting tube. While this prior assemblage hasproven highly satisfactory and successful in commercial use, it does notprovide sucient capacity and for convenient reloading of the sandinjecting cartridges or blow hoppers, thus retarding the volume andspeed of production of the molds, to some extent, by introducing eX-cessive delay caused by cartridge refilling operations.

It is therefore an important object of the present invention to providevarious refinements in the construction and operation of core blowingmachines of the type disclosed in said issued patent, whereby fresh sandis automatically conveyed from an abundant supply source and iseffectively delivered into the blow hopper during normal operation ofthe mechanism, thereby not only enhancing the rapidity of moldproduction but also insuring production of perfect successive molds.

Another important object of this invention is t provide improvedmechanism for producing better sand cores faster than has heretoforebeen possible with the aid of prior core blowers,

and wherein the core clamping and blowing operations may be repeated inrapid succession by manipulation of a single control lever.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved core blowingunit, which is simple and compact in construction, eicient and reliablein operation, and eXible in its adaptations.

Still another object of my invention is to provide an improved sand coreblowing assemblage operable by compressed air, which is operable withminimum eiort to produce perfect cores of diverse sizes and shapes, andwhich embodies relatively large sand storage capacity.

An additional object of my present invention is to provide an improvedsand core blower which may be manufactured and sold for various uses atmoderate cost, and wherein the sand can be quickly and convenientlytransferred in variable quantities from the supply bin or receptacle tothe blow tube or hopper in order to insure maximum and more uniform coreproduction.

These and other important objects and advantages of the presentinvention will be apparent from the following detailed description.

A clear conception of a typical embodiment of the improved featuresconstituting the invention, may be had by referringl to the drawingsaccompanying and forming apart of this specification wherein likereference characters designate the same or similar parts in the variousviews.

Fig. 1 is a front perspective view of a typical sand core blowing unitembodying the present improvements, showing the mechanism in action aswhile blowing a core;

Fig. 2 is a rear perspective view of the same sand core blower, showingthe apparatus in action as in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical section through the sand supply bin andreservoir column of the improved unit, showing the details ofconstruction of the sand paddle wheel, the section having been takenapproximately along the line 3--3 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 4 is a similarly enlarged transverse vertical section through thesand supply bin, also showing the paddle wheel; and

Fig. 5 is a further enlarged top view of the sand delivery gateassociated with the lower lend of the reservoir column.

While the invention has been illustrated and described herein as beingespecially applicable to vertical air actuated sand core blowers, it isnot my desire or intent to unnecessarily restrict the scope or theutility of the improvement by virtue of this limited embodiment, sincethe new sand feed mechanism may also be applied to other types ofmolding equipment; and it is furthermore contemplated that specificdescriptive terms employed herein be given the broadest possibleinterpretation consistent with the disclosure.

Referring to the drawings, the typical core blower shown thereincomprises in general a main frame 1 having spaced opposite side channels8 rigidly interconnected at their upper ends 'agierte-ivA by vtransversebeams 9, and at lower portions thereof by other transverse beams IDwhich provide a rm support for a base plate II; a compressed airactuated power cylinder i3 vertically adjustably supported above theupper frame beams s by a bracket I5 and sturdy upright guide rods I5; avertically movable and elongated compressed air conducting tube Ilslidably cooperating with one of the xed guide rods I6 and with abearing confined between the upper beams 9, and being suspended at itsupper extremity from the reciprocable piston rod I8 of the powercylinder I3, while its lower end is provided with a compressed airdelivery valve operable by a vertically movable clamping disc I9 andalso has a pair of parallel guide rails 23 suspended therefrom by aninverted U-shaped support 2l a sand Vcartridge or blow hopper 23 mountedupon a carriage 24 having wheels 25 cooperable with the rails 2B topermit disposition of the cartridge 23 either in vertical alinement withthe tube El or forwardly thereof above the base plate ll; a sand supplysource or bin 26 having a depending tubular i easuring spout orreservoir 2l formed integral therewith above the plate II and in thecentral vertical plane of travel of the carriage 24 and blow hopper 23,the bin 26 being rigidly attached to the upper beams 9 and having a sandthrower or paddle wheel 28 conned therein while the lower extremity ofthe sand measuring reservoir 2l has a shut-off plate 29 swingablyassociated therewith; a compressed air supply pipe 3| for the airconducting tube l'l having one end attached to and communicating with apressure control valve 32 past a suitable shut-off valve while itsopposite end communicates with the tube Il through a fitting 33 and arigid section of the pipe 3l communicating therewith, the latterslidably cooperating with one of the guide rods I3 through a guide blockElli rmly attached to this pipe section; an actuating arm 5 for thepaddle wheel 28 mounted upon the wheel supporting shaft 35 and beingadjustably connectible to the tube il adjacent to the fitting 33 by alink 35; and an air control valve 3B carried by the frame beams 9 andcommunicating with a source of compressed air through `a pipe 39 andwith the power cylinder I3 through flexible pipes 5, the valve 38 beingmanipulable by means of a lever 4I.

The main frame 'I may be rigidly constructed of structural steel beamsrmly united as by welding, and the base plate I I should rest solidlyupon the lower beams I@ and be attached thereto, but should also extendforwardly of the frame I to provide an extensive front work shelf ortable as shown 'in Figs. l arid 2. The successive split core molds i3are adapted to rest directly upon the base plate I I and may bepositioned and clamped in vertical alinement with the air conductingtube Il' and cylinder I3 by means of a stop member M carried by theplate II and a pair of elongated clamping bars f3.5, l5 adjustablycooperable with the side channels 8 of the main frame l', the bar l5being-adjustable by air pressure while the bar i6 is manuallyadjustable. The bracket l5 and guide rods I5 should be connected to eachother and to the frame beams 9 so as to provide a rigid support for thepower cylinder I3, and the latter is vertically adjustably suspendedfrom` the bracket I5 by means of an upright screw threaded rod il andnuts i8 coacting with the screw threads thereof. This verticaladjustability of the power cylinder I3 permits the use of a relativelyshort and compact power unit cooperable with molds 43 of variousheights, since the cylinder I3 may be elevated bodily away from the worktable or plate II when operating upon high molds, and it may be loweredtoward this table when lower molds are being utilized.

As previously indicated, the compressed air supply tube ll which issuspended from the lower end of the piston rod I8 by the interveningtting 33, is guided for vertical reciprocation in a bearing confinedbetween the upper beams 9, and the compressed air delivery valve at thelower end of the tube Il and which is adapted to be opened by theclamping disc I3 is preferably constructed and operable as shown anddescribed in my Patent No.V 21,468,672, granted April 26, v1949. Thesand receiving cartridge or blow hopper 23 has an unobstructed openingat its upper end adapted to communicate with the interior of the tube I1past the disc IQ to receive compressed air, and with the lower end ofthe batch measuring reservoir 2l to receive successive batches oi sand,and the lower end of this hopper 23 is perforated and adapted tocommunicate with the mold inlet openings in the manner illustrated in myissued patent. The blow hopper 23 is also provided with a handle 50 asshown in Fig. 1 for effecting convenient movement thereof from aposition of vertical alinemerit with the air supply tube I1 as in Figs.l and 2, to a position of vertical alinement with the sand supply spout27 of the bin 25, and for also effecting complete removal of thecartridge from the machine for cleaning and other purposes.

rThe U-shaped support 2l which suspends the parallel guide rails 26 fromthe tube I'I, is adapted to lower these rails away from the cartridgesupporting rollers 25 when the blow hopper 23 is in active position asillustrated, and the clamping disc I9 has been moved toward the lowerend of the tube I1 to open the air supply valve; but when the tube Il iselevated by the power motor, then the rollers 25 engage the rails 20 andthe cartridge 23 is also lifted away from` the plate I I and the mold113, Vand may thereafter be rolled forwardly along these rails 20 towardthe spout 2. The sand shut-oil plate 29 is swingably suspended from thebin spout or reservoir 21 by means of a pivot pin 5l as shown in Figs. 2and 5, and is constantly urged toward closed position by a tensionspring 52, but when the cartridge 23 is rolled forwardly along the rails20 toward a position of vertical alinement with the spout 2l, the upperextremity of the blow hopper engages a recess 53 formed in the plate 29and swings the plate about the pin 5I until the open upper cartridge endis in open communication with the lower end of the sand supply spout 21.Reverse rolling motion of the hopper 23 causes the spring 52 to quicklyclose and seal the lower spout end, thus permitting rapid and convenientreloading of the cartridge.

The main sand supply bin 26 has considerable sand capacity and should beabundantly supplied with fresh core sand, and this bin may be formed oitwo sections bolted iirmly together as shown in Figsl to 4 inclusive.The bin 2S is preferably vertically adjustably mounted upon the mainframe 'I by means of suspension bolts 54 coacting with lugs 55 formedintegral with one of the bin sections, and these bolts 54 permit the binto be properly positioned so that the lower extremity of the batchdischarge reservoir 2'! and the shut-orf plate 29 will properlycooperate with the blow hopper 23. The major portion ci the bin 26 isdisposed laterally of the xisof the spout 21, and the spout lling rotoror paddle wheel 28 whichis revolvably mounted within theV bin by meansof the shaft 35, has an annular series of blades 56 which are rathersnugly cooperable with a curved portion 51 of the bin bottom, and islocated laterally of the spout sand receiving upper end see Figs. 3 and4. The paddle wheel shaft 35 is periodically rotatable or oscillatableby the actuating lever or arm 34 which is provided with a series ofopenings 58 any of which may be connected to the lower end of the link35 the upper extremity of which is swingably attached to the tube I1 byAmeans of a strap 59, as shown in Fig. 2; and the arm 34 may also bemanually oscillated when the link 36 is disconnected therefrom, with theaid of a hand lever 60 secured to the arm. i

The compressed air line or pipe 3| which supplies airto the tube I1should also be provided with a filter 62, a pressure gauge 63, andshutoff valve 64 as shown, in order to insure delivery of clean air atsuitable pressure to the successive molds 43, and these moldsmay assumevarious sizes and shapes and are provided with proper air escapeopenings, in a well known manner. The lower end of the blow hopper 23should also be provided with a replaceable perforated bottom plate 65adapted to properly cooperate with the various molds 43, and aspreviously indicated the hopper or cartridge 23 may be readily removedfrom the machine to permit such replacement of the plates 65 by rollingthe blow hopper past and beneath the spout 21 and plate 29 along therails 20 when no mold 43 is present upon the work shelf. All of thecontrol and shut-olf valves, and the levers 4I, 60, are readilyaccessible and manipulable by an operator located in front of the unit,and the entire mechanism is mounted upon the main frame 1 which isportable and may be placed in any suitable locality.

In order to avoid subjecting the vertically reciprocable tube I.' totilting pressure, this tube besides being lguided in a bearing betweenthe upper beams 9, is additionally guided at its upper end by means of aguide block 66 which slidably engages one of the Xed rods I6 and alsosupports the end of the air supply pipe 3| near the fitting 33, as shownin Fig. 2.

When the improved core blowing unit has been properly assembled andadjusted as hereinabove described, it may be utilized to producesuccessive cores in rapid succession by merely providing an abundantsupply of sand in the bin 26 and by supplying the apparatus with airunder suitable pressure and thereafter proceeding as follows. Thesuccessive empty molds 43 should first be properly positioned upon andanchored to the work supporting plate I with the aid of the stop 44 andclamping rods 45, 46, whereupon the blow hopper 23 should be rolledforwardly into open communication with the down spout 21 of the supplybin 26 in order to receive a batch of sand. When the sand batch has beenthus deposited into the blow hopper 23, the loaded hopper or cartridgeshould be rolled rearwardly along the rails into alinement with theelevated tube I1 and with the pre-positioned empty mold 43, whereuponthe lever 4| may be manipulated to actuate the power motor so as tocause the piston rod I8 thereof to lower the compressed air supply tubeI1. As the tube I1 descends, the valve actuating disc I9 will first sealthe upper `end of the cartridge hopper 23 and will thereafter clamp thecartridge against the mold 43 and open the cessive cores. 23 from thelower end of the air supply tube I'I` 6a air admission valve locatedwithin the-tube I1, thereby forcing or blowing sand from within thehopper 23 into the mold andiilling the latter.

After a core blowing operation has been thus completed,the lever 4| mayagain be manipulated in a reverse direction to causethe power motorpiston rod I8 and air supply tube I1 to ascend quickly, and during theupward movement of the tube I1 the'paddle wheel28 will be rapidlyrevolved in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 3 and willthrow loose sand into the reservoir spout 21 filling the same Awith afresh batch of sand from Within the bin 26. Simultaneously with thisoperation of the paddle wheel 23, the disc I9will be released andwithdrawn from the upper end of the blow hopper 23 so as to cause theair delivery valve within the tube |1 to close and to also cause thecartridge supporting rollers 25 to engage the adjacent tracks 20. Theblow hopper 23 may then be moved. forwardly into vertical alinement withthe spout 21, and the sand filled mold 43 may be removed from the work`table preparatory to application of a subsequent empty mold andrepetition of the cycle of` operations. The successive cores may thus beeffectively blown in rapid succession; and if the automatic filling ofthe reservoir 21 with the aid of the arm 34 and link 36 is insufficient,the hand lever 6U may `be utilized to aid in the spout lling operation.

From the foregoing detailed description of the construction andoperation of my improved` core blower, it shouldV be apparent that Ihave in fact providednv unit which is simple, compact and durable inconstruction, and which is also exible` in its adaptations and highlyefficient in operation. The improved assemblage has great capacityconsidering its relatively small size, and is well adapted to producecores of many varieties of sizes and shapes with minimum eifort on thepart of the operator. The sand slinging paddle wheel 28 is an importantfeature of the invenm tion since it functions to automatically com-`pletely refill the batch measuring reservoir 21 with loose sand aftereach delivery of material therefrom,` thereby eliminating bridging ofthe sand within the bin 26 and assuring an abundance of sand for theproduction of perfect suc- By suspending theblow hopper with the aid ofrails 2|] and rollers 25 in the manner shown and described, this hopperor cartridge may be conveniently transferred from the tube I1 to thespout 21 and viceversa, without interfering with the mold clampingaction of the tube I1Vand disc I9 during core blowing operations. Thesuspension of the power unit from the rigid rods I6 carried by the mainframe 1 and the vertical adjustability thereof, permits the use of arelatively short cylinder I3 for blowing cores of various heights; andthe guide block 66 coacting with one of the rods I6 avoids applicationof tilting pressures on the `compressed air supply tube I1 and insuresfree vertical movement of this tube. The improved unit has gone intosuccessful commercial use and may be manufactured and sold at moderatecost for diverse core blowing purposes.

It should be understood that it is not desired to limitthis invention tothe exact details of construction and operation of the core blower unitherein shown and described, for various modifica-` tions within `thescope of the lappended claims may `ocurtto` persons klllet. `Uh@ mit i Iclaim:

l. A core blower comprising, a main frame having upper cross-beamsrigidly connected with and spaced from a lower mold support, acompressed air supply tube vertically movable relative to said beamstoward and away from said support, rails carried by the lower portion ofsaid tube between said beams and said support, a sand supply spoutcarried by said frame laterally of said tube, and a blow hopper movablealong said rails to positions of vertical alinement with said tube orwith said spout, said hopper being clamped by said tube to thesuccessive molds resting upon said support and being released fromsupporting contact with said rails when in clamping engagement with amold.

2. A core blower comprising, a normally stationary main frame having apair of upper crossbeams rigidly attached to and spaced from a lowermold support, a compressed air supply tube movable vertically betweensaid beams toward and away from said support, a pair of approximatelyhorizontal guide rails carried by the lower portion of said tube in thespace between said beams and said support, a sand supply bin carried bysaid frame and having a depending sand delivery spout located laterallyof said tube, and a blow hopper movable along said rails from a positionof vertical alinement with said spout to a position of verticalalinement `with said tube, said hopper being clamped by said tubeagainst the successive molds resting upon-said support and being out ofcontact with said rails during mold lling and clamping operation of saidtube.

3. A core blower comprising, a main frame having upper cross-beamsrigidly connected with and spaced from a lower mold support, acompressed air supply tube verticallyT movable relative to said beamstoward and away from said support, rails carried by the lower portion ofsaid tube between said beams and said support, a sand supply spoutcarried by said frame laterally of said tube, a blow hopper movablealong said rails, and means for moving said tube to clamp said hopperagainst a mold resting upon said support and to simultaneously move saidrails out of supporting engagement with the hopper.

4. A core blower comprising, a normally stationary main frame havingY apair of upper y cross-beams rigidly attached to and spaced from a lowermold support, a compressed air supply tube movable vertically betweensaid beams toward and away from said support, a pair of approximatelyhorizontal guide rails carried by the lower portion of said tube in thespace between said beams and said support, a sand supply bin carried bysaid frame and having a depending sand delivery spout located laterallyof said tube, a blow hopper rollable along said rails to positions ofalinement with said tube and spout, and means for lowering said tube toclamp said hopper against a mold resting upon said support and tosimultaneously disengage the hopper from said rails.

5. A core blower comprising, a normally stationary main frame havingupper cross-beams rigidly attached to and spaced from a lower moldsupport, a compressed lair sulpply tube movable vertically between saidbeams toward and away from said support, a pair of approximatelyhorizontal guide rails suspended from and movable by the lower portionof said tube inthe space between seid beams and said support, asand sup#,ply bin carried by said frame andhavng a depending sand delivery spoutlocated laterally of said tube, :a spout filling paddle wheel withinsaid bin operatively connected to`-said tube, and a blow hopper movablealong said rails from a p0- sition of vertical alinement with said spoutto a position of vertical alinement with said tube.

6. A core blower comprising, .a normally stationary main frame having apair of upper cross-beams rigidly attached to and spaced from a lowermold support, a -compressed air supply tube movable vertically betweensaid beams toward and away from said support, a sand supply binadjustably mounted upon said beams and having a depending sand deliveryspout located laterally of said tube, a spout filling paddle wheellocated within said bin laterally of said spout, means for rotating saidWheel whenever said tube is moved upwardly, a blow hopper movable from aposition of vertical alinement with said spout to a position of verticalalinement with said tube, and a gate pivoted on said spout to movehorizontally and being movable by movement of said hopper to openposition.

7. A core blower comprising, .a normally stationary main frame having apair of upper crossbeams rigidly attached to and spaced from a lowermold support, a compressed air supply tube movable vertically betweensaid beams toward and away from said support, a pair of approximatelyhorizontal guide rails carried by the lower portion of said tube in thespace between said beams and said support, a sand supply bin carried bysaid frame cross-beams and having a depending sand delivery spoutlocated laterally of said tube, a spout filling paddle Wheel within saidbin operatively connected to said tube so as to be rotated by themovement of the tube, a closure gate for said spout, a blow hoppermovable along said rails to actuate said gate, and means for loweringsaid tube to clamp said hoplper against a mold resting upon said supportand to simultaneously disengage the hopper from said rails.

8. A core blower comprising, a main frame having upper beams connectedwith and spaced from a lower mold support, a compressed air supply tubevertically movable relative to said beams toward and awal7 from saidsupport, rails carried by said tube between said beams and said support,a sand supply bin having a sand delivery spout located laterally of saidtube, a spout filling paddle wheel within said bin operatively connectedto said tube so as to be rotated by the movement of the tube, a blowhopper movable along said rails, and means for moving said tube toactuate said wheel and to clamp said hopper against a mold resting uponsaid support and to move said rails out of supporting engagement withthe hopper.

9; A core blower comprising, a main frame having upper beams spaced froma lower mold support, a compressed air supply tube movable relative tosaid beams toward and away from said support, rails carried by saidtube, a sand supply bin having a sand delivery spout located adjacent tosaid tube, a spout lling paddle wheel within said bin operativelyconnected to said tube so as to be rotated by the movement of the tube,a closure gate for said spout, a blow hopper movable along said rails toactuate said gate, and means for moving said tube to clamp said hopperagainst a mold resting upon .said support and to move said rails out ofsupporting engagement with the hopper,

10. A core blower comprising, a main frame having upper beams spacedfrom a lower mold support, a compressed air supply tube movable relativeto said beams toward and away from said support, rails carried by saidtube, a sand supply bin having a sand delivery spout located adjacent tosaid tube, a spout filling paddle wheel within said bin operativelyconnected to said tube so as to be rotated by the movement of the tube,a blow hopper movable along said rails, and means for lowering said tubeto clamp said hopper against a mold resting upon said support and tosimultaneously disengage the hopper from said rails.

JULIUS S. JUDELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,480,749 Demmler Jan. 15,` 19241,595,600 Demmler Aug. 10, 1926 1.866,301 Goodlin July 5, 1932 1,994,028Rolf Mar. 12, 1935 2,468,672 Judell Apr. 26, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS NumberCountry Date 543,832 Germany Feb. 15, 1932

